NeL Terminology
The NeL system engine uses several types of files for it's needs. Here is a list of them taken from Nevrax wiki
- build_gamedata : automatic fully incremental batch process that produce final compiled data from top most working data.
- WK : WORKING DATA : This data is a file edited by the artists. It will not be in client final data. This data is an input data for the build_gamedata process.
- RT : RUNTIME DATA : This data is generated by build_gamedata. It is not edited by the artists. It will be included in client final data.
- WR : WORKING and RUNTIME DATA : This data is a file edited by the artists but it will be included in final data. Build_gamedata will only copy it.
- TP : TEMPORARY DATA : This data is produce by build_gamedata to build another kind of data. This data is not edited by the artists and not included in final data.
| Extension | Type | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| .anim | RT | NeL 3d animations. Contains several named animation tracks. Generated from .max files by build_gamedata. Viewable in object_viewer. Readable by NeL. |
| .bank | WK | NeL tile bank. Bank of bitmap tiles used by the landscape. Edited by the artists with tile_edit.exe. build_gamedata generates .smallbank with it. Only one bank file per landscape. Readable by NeL. |
| .cfg | RT | Configuration file used by NLMISC::CConfigFile class. Used to set user parameters for NeL applications. |
| .clodbank | RT | Character LOD bank using 3d sprit objects (quake 1 like) to be quickly draw and animated when far away. Generated from .max files by build_gamedata. Readable by NeL. |
| .cmb | TP | Simple geometry dump used by build_gamedata to compute surfaces for interior collision meshes. Exported from .max files. Not readable by NeL. |
| .dds | RT | Microsoft DirectDraw Surface (DDS) format is used to store textures and cubic environment maps with mipmaps. It compress textures in a hardware friendly format. Generated from .tga files by build_gamedata. Readable by NeL. |
| .farbank | RT | NeL far bank. Bank of bitmap used by the landscape to map patches when far away. Generated by build_gamedata from .tga tiles and the bank file. Only one farbank file per landscape. Readable by NeL. |
| .gr | RT | Instances of local retrievers. Used for NeL 3d collisions. Readable by NeL. |
| .ig | RT | NeL 3d Instance Group. Contains a list of instanced stuffs in a landscape (a shape reference with a matrix) (optinal), a list of lights (optinal) and a cluster system description (optinal). It is generated by build_gamedata from .max files. Readable by NeL. |
| .lr | TP | Temporary landscape zone surface file produced during by build_gamedata from a .tessel file. Used to build .gr and .rbank files. Not readable by NeL. |
| .max | WK | 3dsmax file format. Used to produce .anim, .clodbank, .cmb, .ig, .pacs_prim, .shape, .skel, .swt, .zone files. NeL can't direclty read it. build_gamedata exports those files using 3dsmax scripts and plugins. |
| .pacs_prim | RT | Set of PACS primitive (Box or cylinder description with size, radius, height, position and PACS properties). Generated from .max file by build_gamedata. Readable by NeL. |
| .ps | WK | NeL 3d particule system. This file is edited with object_viewer.exe. Readable by NeL. In fact, .ps are .shape files. |
| .rbank | RT | Retrievers Bank. It is the bank of collision zones used by NEL::PACS. Generated by build_gamedata from .lr files. Readable by NeL. |
| .shape | RT | NeL 3d object used to store a 3d mesh. It can be a simple mesh, skinned mesh, a multilod mesh, a lensflare, a remanence mesh, a water mesh, a particul system. Generated by build_gamedata from .max files. Readable by NeL. |
| .skel | RT | NeL 3d skeleton description used to deform skinned shapes using .anim. Generated by build_gamedata from .max files. Readable by NeL. |
| .smallbank | RT | Same file than .bank but some informations have been removed to get a smaller runtime file. Generated by build_gamedata. Readable by NeL. |
| .swt | RT | NeL 3d file that contains weight for skeleton animation. Generated by build_gamedata from .max files. Readable by NeL. |
| .tessel | TP | Temporary landscape zone tesselation file produced during the build_gamedata process with a .zone and its neighbors. Used to generate .lr files. Very Hugh zone tesselation dump. (at 0.5 meter). Not used in final data. Not readable by NeL. |
| .tga | WK/RT | Targa Truevision Graphics bitmap file format. Edited by artists. Format RGBA 16 and 32 bits uncompressed, RGB 24 bits uncompressed readable by NeL. This file format is used by build_gamedata to generate .dds files. It is used to as runtime data for bitmap that doesn't need to be 'dds' compressed. (Like displacement tiles). |
| .veget | RT | Vegetable file. This file is a simple mesh with only few polygons used like a blade of grass by a vegetset. Generated from .max files by build_gamedata. |
| .vegetset | WK | Vegetable set file. This file describe a micro-vegetation material. It can be edited with object_viewer.exe. It can be assigned to a lanscape tileset (in bank file) using tile_edit.exe. |
| .zone | TP | NeL landscape zone made of patches of 160 x 160 meters generated by build_gamedata from .max files. Used by build_gamedata to produce .zonew files. Readable by NeL. |
| .zonew | TP | Same file than .zone but welding informations with neighbors has been computed by build_gamedata. Readable by NeL. |
| .zonel | RT | Same file than zonel but lighing informations have been computed by build_gamedata. Readable by NeL. |
